Aunt Zhuang nodded as she walked over with some hot tea in hand. "He"s gone. I was looking through the peephole and I saw him phoning someone, and not long after, a man came and helped him away."
Lin Chu nodded without saying anything else.
Yan Beicheng said he would only be back around midnight and since Aunt Zhuang was unable to stay up that late, Lin Chu had her go to sleep first. It did not matter whether Aunt Zhuang stayed up or not as Lin Chu was going to wait for Yan Beicheng regardless.
With that in mind, Aunt Zhuang retired to her room with a yawn.
Lin Chu was getting bored as she sat alone in the living room, so she headed to the kitchen to grab some snacks and poured herself a gla.s.s of red wine. Then, she snuggled into the huge couch and turned on the television.
Although she only had a small gla.s.s of wine, it did not take long for her to feel tipsy, so she quickly drifted into sleep.
When Yan Beicheng came home, he was welcomed by quite a sight.
Some variety show was playing on the television in the living room at quite a high volume, but Lin Chu was curled up on the sofa with her head resting on a bolster, seemingly completely unaffected.
Chu Xi was not in its bed either but lying on the floor right next to Lin Chu"s slippers. It curled itself up like a ball, with its sleeping position exactly the same as its owner.
There was an indescribable humor in the scene before his eyes.
Although it was summer, it was still slightly chilly at night. Since Lin Chu did not use a blanket, her body was curled up even tighter.
Chu Xi immediately woke up the second Yan Beicheng stepped into the room. When it raised its head and realized that it was Yan Beicheng, it broke into a run and dashed toward him. Usually, it would start barking enthusiastically as well but it seemed as if it knew that Lin Chu was asleep.
It merely rubbed itself against Yan Beicheng"s leg adoringly as its long tail shook excitedly.
Yan Beicheng"s mood instantly lifted when he received the warm greeting as soon as he entered the room.
He petted Chu Xi"s head a bit before whispering softly, "Go back to sleep."
With that, Chu Xi stood on its hind legs and pawed at Yan Beicheng"s thigh with its front paws. Then, it returned to its small villa with a yawn.
Yan Beicheng walked over as his eyes settled on the half-eaten snacks and the half-empty gla.s.s of red wine on the coffee table before glancing down at Lin Chu who was sound asleep. Her face was flushed red and her lips seemed even moister than usual. Looking at her child-like sleeping posture as she curled up on the couch, he could not help but let out a soft laugh.
His luggage was left aside by the door, long forgotten, as he picked Lin Chu.
Lin Chu immediately woke up after being moved. She groggily opened her eyes, and when she realized that she was staring into Yan Beicheng"s worn-out face, her face immediately lit up.
"You"re back!" Her arms naturally hooked around his neck as she excitedly exclaimed.
Yan Beicheng responded with a warm smile. "You listened to me and slept first."
The red flush on Lin Chu"s cheeks instantly deepened in color as she tightened her clasp around his neck before burying her face into his chest as her body instinctively arched toward him.
This action had already become a habit of hers. Whenever he enveloped her in his arms, she would naturally arch her body toward him, just like Chu Xi would.
Yan Beicheng"s chest softened under her touch as he felt a chill spread from his chest right to his brain.
His head tightened and shuddered as if a small current of electricity had just shot down his spine.
Yan Beicheng tightened his hold on her and planted a soft kiss on her luscious lips.
Since she had just awoken seconds ago, Yan Beicheng could not kiss her too hard as she was still somewhat half-awake.
However, he had been away for a few days and missed her too much. As hard as he tried to control himself, he could not help but deepen the kiss.
"Did you miss me?" Yan Beicheng asked in a low, husky voice, his lips still pressed against hers.
He breathed into her mouth gently as he spoke.
Although he spoke softly, Lin Chu still heard him clearly, and as she breathed him in, it was as though she was listening to his words through her mouth instead of her ears.
Thinking back to his absence the past few days and her unfortunate run-in with Lu Zhenghang, Lin Chu suddenly felt upset about everything that had been going wrong ever since he left.
She had been used to being independent ever since she started living with Xu Moyan so she had never been bothered whenever he was away. She even felt a sense of satisfaction when she dealt with Lu Zhenghang and never gave it much thought after doing her pilates.
However, as she looked at Yan Beicheng right now, the feeling of being wronged that she didn"t even realize was there instantly overwhelmed her.
In the past, she never had anyone to rely on, so she would never have allowed herself to feel this way. Thus, after some time, she thought that she had become immune to such emotions.
However, now that Yan Beicheng had walked into her life, she now had someone to depend on, and her heart had gradually become softer and more vulnerable. The moment she saw him, she felt like a kid venting her grievances to an a.d.u.l.t.
When an a.d.u.l.t was not around, it was pointless to cry if a child fell down, but if an a.d.u.l.t was nearby, the child would cry hysterically as if there was a broken bone.
Lin Chu"s eyes instantly turned red, but she did not want Yan Beicheng to notice them. She tucked her head deep intoo his chest in a pettishly charming manner.
"I"ve missed you so much," she whispered back, her voice quivering slightly.
Back when she used to stay with Xu Moyan, when she was still dating Cheng Ziming, and when she did not know that Cheng Ziming was cheating on her, Cheng Ziming would only see her every ten or fifteen days. Even in between these days, Lin Chu never had the urge to see him, so whenever she encountered any obstacles or stumbled in her daily life, she never felt wronged or upset, let alone felt the urge to vent to Cheng Ziming.
With Yan Beicheng, it was all different.
She would panic when she had to go through a day without seeing him, and even experienced a small sense of grief. Even if she were to trip over a small rock when walking, she would think that she would only feel better if Yan Beicheng were around to take care of her. If Yan Beicheng was around that moment, he would never let anything happen to her and would always be there to comfort and cheer her up.
Over the past few days when he was away, she had missed Yan Beicheng"s hugs and had yearned to be in his arms once again.
Finally, after four days, her wish had been granted and she now felt more than content.
Lin Chu hugged him even tighter and breathed him in. The familiar pine and cypress scent was even cooler than usual - he had never felt so fresh.
Yan Beicheng"s heart jumped at the sound of her words and he quickly brought her into their bedroom. When he laid her down on the bed, he finally noticed her red eyes.
She seemed to have held back her tears, hence only a few drops of tears lingered in her eyes.
Yan Beicheng felt his heart ache as he looked at her trying to hold in her unhappiness.
"What is it? Who upset you when I was gone?" Yan Beicheng immediately asked in a nervous tone. His expression immediately darkened as his body tensed.
"No, nothing. I just missed you too much, that"s all. n.o.body upset me," Lin Chu quickly comforted him when she saw him flash with anger.
Yan Beicheng stared back in disbelief. Lin Chu had never been one to cry easily for no reason. Although she was dependent on him, she was not that delicate.
How could he believe that she had not suffered some kind of injustice now that she was crying?
Nevertheless, he gradually calmed down as Lin Chu comforted him, his anger simmering away with every brush of her soft palm that gently rubbed his chest. Slowly, his heart began to rise like a galloping horse and he no longer had the mind to ponder over what made her upset. In his head, he quickly decided that he would set the matter aside for now and get back to it when he was in a better frame of mind.
Glancing down at Lin Chu with her red eyes at the moment, she looked like an adorable bunny. It gave him the urge to fool around with her.
It had been an extremely long four days for Yan Beicheng, and he did not want to worry about anything else. He suddenly pulled Lin Chu deeper into his arms and kissed her pa.s.sionately while his other hand reached down to pull her pants down.
The sensation was like a warm current that seeped into the deepest part of her and she could not help but quiver. Her toes curled in enjoyment as she desperately held onto Yan Beicheng.
Four days did not exactly count as a long time, but Lin Chu was shocked at how terribly her heart ached from missing him.
As he hit her highest point, Lin Chu tightened her grip on his body and buried her face in the crook of his neck, instinctively planting a rough bite on Yan Beicheng"s strong muscles. However, Yan Beicheng did not feel even the slightest pain, only a tingling sensation that spread all over his body.
In the end, Lin Chu started crying. She was either crying out of satisfaction because he had pushed her too hard, or because she felt their closeness overwhelming especially after having suffered injustice. One thing was for sure, her tears were spilling out and getting out of control.
She was not exactly wailing, just tearing up.
Yan Beicheng immediately a.s.sumed that his strength was too overwhelming and that there was no other reason for Lin Chu to cry at a moment like this, so he did not suspect too much.
He felt extremely proud of himself as he lowered his head and kissed away her tears before once again pulling her back into his arms and cuddling her. He slowly rubbed her back and comforted her, treating her like a fragile child.
"Why are you crying so badly? Did you miss me so much?" Yan Beicheng whispered softly.
By then, Lin Chu had already stopped crying, but there were still beads of tears on her lashes and in the corner of her eyes. Her nose had turned red from the crying and her lips were moist while her red and swollen eyes made her look especially innocent. It gave him the urge to pinch her cheeks.
The remaining tears trembled between her thick, curled lashes. At the sight of it, Yan Beicheng slowly kissed them all away one by one.
His thin, moist lips caressed the corner of her eyes as a low hum sounded. The soft smooches of his gentle kisses traveled along her skin, making their way to her ears. Lin Chu leaned further into Yan Beicheng"s arms as she felt her body tremble as if she had just felt an electric shock.
Yan Beicheng did not even need to do much to her. She kept arching herself into his body as if she was trying to pry open his chest and crawl into him.
"Yes, I"ve missed you so much," Lin Chu replied.
She was crying moments ago so her voice was slightly hoa.r.s.e, making her sound like a pitiful baby girl. In fact, she sounded even more delicate than a baby girl.
Yan Beicheng found it slightly amusing, but at the same time, his heart ached for her. He planted another gentle kiss at the edge of her eye and whispered, "Why are you suddenly so kittenish?"
Lin Chu looked up into his eyes with her extremely sad puppy eyes and hugged him tighter. "I only act like this when I"m with you and n.o.body else!"
Yan Beicheng let out a soft laugh in satisfaction. He also just realized how easy it was for her to derail his train of thought.
"Yes, yes, yes," Yan Beicheng responded the same way he would coax a child. He tightened his arms around her and kissed her fiercely on the lips. "Then remember this, you can only be squeamish with me and n.o.body else. n.o.body else can see you like this either."
At first, Lin Chu still felt aggrieved and wanted to pester him, but after listening to Yan Beicheng"s words, she could not help but smile. Just like that, the gloomy cloud above her head instantly disappeared.
"Alright, no acting cute or whatsoever in front of anyone else," Lin Chu promised.
It was a rare occasion for her to sound so soft and sweet. Yan Beicheng was extremely delighted and wanted to tease her so she would speak more.
"No acting coy with the two elders and the old princ.i.p.al, only me," Yan Beicheng said as his hands reached down to grab her waist.
Lin Chu thought for a while. After she figured that she would never behave so squeamishly with the three elders, she nodded in agreement. "Okay."
To a certain extent, she knew that she had already been completely spoiled by Yan Beicheng.
Whether it was material or psychological, the truth was she was spoiled.
She might even have been unable to endure the hardsh.i.p.s she was once used to.
Furthermore, she felt more and more dependent on Yan Beicheng now. In the past, she was never squeamish as she was a strong, independent woman, but today, she was used to him coming and going whenever she asked.
If she suffered the slightest injustice or perhaps had something go wrong during the day, she would automatically seek Yan Beicheng for comfort.
Yan Beicheng rubbed her back and continued coaxing her, "If you continue behaving like this, one day when we have a daughter, it"ll be like I have two daughters."
"Hey! How can you have a daughter as old as me?" Lin Chu pestered as she kicked him while still in his arms. Then, she poked his ribs. "You"ve always complained about me reminding you of your old age too! Anyway, you"re only old enough to be my uncle, but you yourself just said that you"re old enough to be my father! You… How can you hold your daughter like this in bed? Are you that shameless?"
"What are you talking about? That"s outrageous!" Yan Beicheng was at a loss. He was unsure whether to cry or laugh before he finally decided to just gently smack her bottom.
He dared not use too much strength though, in case she got mad at him again. If so, she would lecture him all over again.
Besides, hurting her would just hurt him too.
Little did he know that Lin Chu would react out of resentment. "You just came back and you were using me like a mortar seconds ago, but now you"re hitting me!"
It was his fault for going away and allowing Lu Zhenghang the opportunity to badger her.
In her heart, Lin Chu knew that he was not at fault, but she still could not turn down the chance to use it as an excuse to toy with him.
She knew that no matter how much she toyed with him, he would never be upset with her and would always treat her as his little princess.
This was why she felt rea.s.sured and emboldened.
Yan Beicheng was stunned, and it took him a minute to process what she meant by "using her like a mortar". When he finally realized, his face flushed red in embarra.s.sment.
A hint of intensity flared up in his eyes as he pressed down on her once again.
Originally, she had merely wanted to tease him for a bit, but she had already crossed the line. Lin Chu felt that something was off and quickly suggested, "You… You should sleep now. It"s getting late and you still have to wake up early tomorrow."
"I can"t sleep with you in my arms," Yan Beicheng responded bluntly. He started to feel satisfied seeing how anxious she was getting.
"I"m tired already!" With that, Lin Chu closed her eyes right away.
Yan Beicheng could not help but laugh at her cheekiness. Still, he reached over and pulled her toward him once more.
"I"ve been away for four days! We can go two rounds tonight as a replacement for the first day we"ve missed, then two rounds again tomorrow as a replacement for the second day I was gone, and two rounds again the day after, then we"ll make up for all the times we"ve missed since I was away," Yan Beicheng said softly as he hugged Lin Chu tightly against his chest.
The relaxing tone of his voice sounded exceptionally comforting.
Lin Chu, "..."
She was now exhausted, but she slowly raised her head and kissed his jaw. Her lips p.r.i.c.kled as it came into contact with his stubble and she instinctively bit on it as if she was trying to use her sharp teeth to shave off the stubble.
"Go to bed, goodnight," Lin Chu whispered. With that, she pushed herself further into his arms.
Yan Beicheng kissed the tip of her nose and hugged her tight. With his jaw resting on her head, he closed his eyes.
Although Lin Chu was extremely tired, she felt unusually awake at the same time.
Perhaps she did not feel like sleeping because she was so excited that Yan Beicheng had finally come home. As much as her bones ached from fatigue, her eyes were wide open and full of spirit.
Her eyes drifted from Yan Beicheng"s wide, st.u.r.dy chest to his s.e.xy Adam"s apple, and finally settled on the bite mark she had left on his stubble. Then, she glanced up at his handsome nose. Lin Chu had always thought that Yan Beicheng had an extraordinarily beautiful nose.
Although Lin Chu had always thought that Westerners had nice sharp noses, it still had to be well proportioned and not too sharp. One might still look normal from the front since it was chiseled, but Lin Chu thought it was a bit too much from the side profile.
However, Yan Beicheng"s nose was nothing like that. It was as if his nose had been carefully adjusted and chiseled to be as sharp as possible, but still not as much as a Westerner"s.
Nevertheless, Lin Chu knew very well that he was natural from head to toe.
Then, her eyes moved up and settled on his closed eyes. His thick eyelashes looked like fans as they cast a faint shadow on his eyelids.
It was evident that Yan Beicheng had not gotten the chance to rest well while away on his business trip. Below the shadows cast by his eyelashes, there was a green hue below his eyes.
Distressed, Lin Chu continued staring at him dearly. She never got to really look at his face peacefully so she did not want to waste the moment.
Suddenly, Yan Beicheng"s arms tightened around Lin Chu. Without opening his eyes, Yan Beicheng spoke softly, "Aren"t you tired? Why are you still not sleeping?"
There was a hint of tiredness in his hoa.r.s.e voice, and as good as he sounded, Lin Chu"s heart ached for him.
"I just want to look at you," Lin Chu whispered quietly.
Yan Beicheng slowly opened his eyes. There was confusion in his eyes, and despite his weariness, he looked extremely cute.
Lin Chu resisted the urge to snap a picture of him. He never looked like this when he was awake so it was a rare moment for her.
"What"s wrong?" Yan Beicheng asked, suddenly remembering how upset she looked earlier. The wariness that had disappeared moments ago immediately resurfaced.
"Nothing. I just think you"re very good looking and I want to look at you for a little longer," Lin Chu whispered back. Then, she raised her hand as her soft fingertips gently touched his eyelids. "Go to sleep now."
Yan Beicheng thought she was behaving especially like a child tonight. The number of times she had acted cute and squeamish tonight alone already exceeded the total over the past month.
He laughed and pinched her waist. "I can feel your stare on me, so how can I sleep like that?"
Lin Chu felt embarra.s.sed at his response. She quickly stole a glance at his handsome face before her eyes immediately looked away.
Yan Beicheng could not help but laugh at her reaction. "Am I that good looking? You"ve never looked at me like this before."
"Of course you are! I think you"re the most handsome man in this world." Lin Chu used her index finger to trace his jawline. Her fingertips twitched at his p.r.i.c.kly stubble. "Yan Beicheng, can you explain to me how you became this good looking?"
Yan Beicheng twitched as well. Her delicate fingertips were as soft as feathers as they gently brushed through his jaw.
Although Lin Chu had grown up doing rough labor, her fingers were still as slender and smooth as b.u.t.ter. Tons of people would be envious of how she was born like this.
Yan Beicheng felt relaxed and comfortable under her touch as he slowly closed his eyes like a lazy lion.
"Good genes run in our family so when we have kids in the future, they"ll turn out beautiful as well," Yan Beicheng said confidently.
As narcissistic as he sounded, Lin Chu still fell deep into thought at his words.
"You"re always so busy with work and whenever you"re free you just always want to…" Lin Chu"s face reddened as she was too embarra.s.sed to say it out loud. "That"s why I never had a good chance to really look at you."
Yan Beicheng was usually thick-faced and cheeky, but this time he got embarra.s.sed when he had to endure her blunt stare and appraisal. His face soon reddened as well.
He hugged her and kissed her lips hard, then buried his face in her neck. His face was boiling hot as he blushed, causing Lin Chu"s neck area to gradually heat up too.
"Chu Chu…" Yan Beicheng called out. He felt fortunate that his bright-red face was now buried in her neck so she was unable to see him embarra.s.sed. "Do you really love me?"
"..." Lin Chu had not expected this question from him, and at this point, her face was blus.h.i.+ng to the extent that she could hardly feel it anymore.
Although she was embarra.s.sed, she still nodded earnestly, "Yes, I love you… Very much. I love you so much and I can"t wait to get close to you. I only want us to get closer and closer every day. I want us to come together as one and merge our bones and blood. That"s the kind of love I feel for you."